Mementos from the iconic nightclub Studio 54 are going up for sale in an auction that has renewed nostalgia for the hub of New York's 1970s party scene.

Photographs, letters and artwork once owned by the club's A-list guests are among the memorabilia that belonged to late Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell.

The trove will be auctioned off on Saturday in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The auction comes more than 23 years after Mr Rubell's death from Aids in 1989.

The photographs offer intimate glimpses into the leisure time of the era's celebrity elite: Frank Sinatra, Robin Williams, Diana Ross, Sir Elton John and others.

Among the most valuable items are a handful of Polaroids taken by artist Andy Warhol.

Mr Rubell's partner, Bill Hamilton, has held onto the boxes of newspaper clippings, photographs and other items in the couple's Manhattan apartment, where Mr Hamilton still lives.

He said taking another look at the pictures was a reminder of Mr Rubell's generosity and fun-loving nature.

"He really just wanted you to have a good time. And he might have just met you and he invited you into the club, but he was going to make sure you remember it," he said.

"These people from 1978, 1979 are still living those nights."

In Saturday's auction, a metal sculpture by Warhol of dollar signs is estimated to fetch up to $50,000 (£31,521) and a portrait of Mr Rubell painted by Michael Vollbracht has an estimated value of up to $20,000 (£12,608).

Also being sold are drink tickets, posters, invitations and the key to the party fortress itself.

Mr Rubell opened Studio 54 in 1977 with Ian Shrager, and sold it just four years later in 1981. It continued operating under different management for years afterward.